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Court reverses dismissal of whistleblowing case in Sheridan deaths

Court reverses dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a Somerset County Prosecutor's Office's detective that he was the subject of retaliation because he alleged that the office's investigation into the deaths of John and Joyce Sheridan was "shoddily" and "improperly" handled.

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A state appellate court has reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a Somerset County Prosecutor's Office's detective that he was the subject of retaliation because he alleged that the the office's investigation of the deaths of John and Joyce Sheridan was "shoddily" and "improperly" handled, and evidence was even destroyed.(Photo: ~File)

SOMERVILLE - A state appellate court has reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a Somerset County Prosecutor's Office's detective claiming he was the subject of retaliation because he alleged the office's investigation into the deaths of John and Joyce Sheridan was "shoddily" and "improperly" handled, and evidence was destroyed.

In a suit filed in 2016, Jeffrey Scozzafava claimed he was the subject of retaliation for lodging complaints about "deficient and improper evidence collection and casework" by the office's Forensics Unit and its supervisor, Capt. Lee Niles.

"It was common knowledge and a topic of conversation among detectives assigned to the Forensic Unit that the Sheridan evidence was improperly collected, improperly preserved and subsequently destroyed," the lawsuit alleged.

The prosecutor's office determined that John Sheridan, former president and CEO of Cooper Health System and an adviser to several New Jersey governors, killed his wife of 47 years, then took his own life in a bizarre pre-dawn incident at the couple's Montgomery home In September 2014.

However, in January 2017, the state Medical Examiner's Office ruled that Sheridan's death was not suicide, saying that the manner of death could not be determined.

Scozzafava, a former detective sergeant for the New Jersey State Police who started working for the prosecutor's office in 2007, alleged in the 12-page lawsuit he saw "unsealed and unlabeled evidence" from the Sheridan case in the fingerprint lab and vehicle.

Scozzafava, who was president of the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts, also alleged that evidence was not handled properly in a Hillsborough murder case and that he "refused to lie" about how evidence was handled in a bank robbery.

In addition, Scozzafava said that he saw a large piece of bedding from the Sheridan case "lying exposed on a vehicle bay floor" and charred bedding in an open bag in the fingerprint lab.

Though Scozzafava told his supervisor, Lt. Joseph Walsh, that the evidence was not properly secured, "the evidence remained in its place for several weeks," according to the lawsuit.

Months later, in January 2015, Scozzafava saw Niles leave the fingerprint lab with a paper bag containing the charred bedding, walk to a dumpster and dispose the bag, Scozzafava said in the lawsuit.

A few weeks later, Scozzafava emailed Walsh for an update on the status of evidence from the Sheridan case.

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Dawud Ward, 24, of Plainfield, pleaded guilty in April to one county of first-degree robbery, five counts of third-degree burglary and two counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief for crimes that spanned over the course of six months in 2016 and 2017. ~Courtesy of Linden Police Department

Junus Ellison,28, of North Plainfield, is facing three counts of attempted murder of three Plainfield detectives, all first degree crimes,following a gun battle with police through residential neighborhoods. ~Courtesy of Union County Prosecutor's Office

Derrick Fuqua, aka Derek Fuqua is one ofFour relatives — two NewBrunswick men and twoMilltown men— to havebeen indicted in connection with the late-night fatal shooting of an East Brunswick man outside an Elizabeth restaurant. ~File

Almalik Fuquais one ofFour relatives — two NewBrunswick men and twoMilltown men— to havebeen indicted in connection with the late-night fatal shooting of an East Brunswick man outside an Elizabeth restaurant. ~Courtesy of Union County Prosecutor's Office

Tyquan Fuquais one ofFour relatives — two NewBrunswick men and twoMilltown men— to havebeen indicted in connection with the late-night fatal shooting of an East Brunswick man outside an Elizabeth restaurant. ~Courtesy of Union County Prosecutor's Office

Allan Blackburnis one ofFour relatives — two NewBrunswick men and twoMilltown men— to havebeen indicted in connection with the late-night fatal shooting of an East Brunswick man outside an Elizabeth restaurant. ~Courtesy of Union County Prosecutor's Office

Michael Ramsey, 30, of Franklin, isserving a life sentence for a fatal drive-by shooting a dozen years ago and has lost the appeal of his sentence, arguing that his lawyer was ineffective. ~Courtesy of Somerset County Prosecutor's Office

Taquan Floyd,22, was found guilty of committing tworobberies by theATM at the Chase bank on the corner of Nielsen and Richmond streets within two days in April 2013. Floyd is serving a 25-year sentence at the Albert Wagner Youth Correctional Facility in Bordentown and will not be eligible for parole until Dec. 21, 2034. One of his convictions was overturned. ~Courtesy of NJ Department of Corrections

Robert Hayes Jr., 40, is serving a 30-year sentence in New Jersey State Prison after he pleaded guilty to murder, burglary, aggravated arson and desecration of human remains in the death ofmusic teacher Petra Rohrbaugh. ~New Jersey Department of Corrections

Anthony Cole,32, was convicted ofslashing David Donatelli, 58, the borough's retired assistant superintendent of public works, at Spring Lake Park during the borough's annual fireworks celebration on Labor Day 2009. ~Courtesy of NJ Department of Corrections

Thad Alto, a former Pingry School employee, wasconvicted of multiple “acts of lewdness,” including masturbation, involving 12-year-old Pingry students. ~Courtesy of New York State Sex Offender Registry

Ras Loyd, 25, of Newark, was charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree possession of a weapon by certain persons not to have a weapon, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and criminal mischief. ~Courtesy of Somerset County Prosecutor's Office

Thomas Waller, 28, of Newark, was charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree possession of a weapon by certain persons not to have a weapon, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and criminal mischief. ~Courtesy of Somerset County Prosecutor's Office

Adetokunbo Akinnaso, 64, aPlainfield preschool administrator, has been charged with brandishing a knife at two 4-year-old students she was disciplining.She has been charged with two counts of cruelty or neglect of children, a fourth-degree offense. ~Courtesy of Union County Prosecutor's Office

Anthony Bennett,-20, of Pennsylvania, is facing an eluding charge and several motor vehicles summonses in connection with allegedlydriving a motorcycle he just purchasedthroughout the township at 80-plus miles per hour. ~Courtesy of South Brunswick Police Department

Michelle Lodzinski, the formerSouth Amboy resident who was convicted of killing her 5-year-old sonTimothy Wiltseymore than 25 years ago was sentenced to 30 years. ~Courtesy of NJ Department of Corrections

Waldo Milla-Guerra, the 49-year-old South Brunswick man who served as a volunteer soccer coach and was a Sunday School teacher at a North Brunswick church is facing charges related to possessing and distributing child pornography. ~Courtesy of Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office

But the next day, Scozzafava received an email from former Chief of Detectives Tim Fitzgerald stating he was being transferred from the Forensics Unit to the office's Fugitive Unit. When Scozzafava asked why the transfer was made, Walsh told him that "everybody does time in the penalty box," according to the lawsuit.

Scozzafava's case was dismissed in Superior Court because the court found that his transfer was not an "adverse employment action" as defined in the state's Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA).

But the appellate panel disagreed, saying that Scozzafava lost thousands of dollars of overtime pay after being transferred. Overtime, the appellate division noted, had been "steadily available" to the detective as a crime scene investigator. The transfer, the court said, denied him an opportunity to earn substantially more overtime.

Scozzafava's suit now returns to Superior Court for further proceedings.

David Zatuchni, attorney for Scozzafava, said he was "deeply gratified" by the appellate decision, adding that the case is still in its early stages.

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office had no comment on the decision because of the pending litigation.